1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to needles for intravenous applications.
2. Description of the Related Art
Each year, the number of individuals who are infected with Human Immune-deficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis B (HPV), and other dangerous diseases is increasing. Currently, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that from 1.5-2 million people in the United States are infected with HIV. Many of these HIV cases are undiagnosed, which makes anyone who comes in contact with the infected persons body fluids vulnerable to HIV infection as well. Nurses and doctors are particularly vulnerable to HIV infection because their work involves working closely with the body fluids of their patients.
One significant source of HIV exposures for health care workers is accidental needlesticks. The number of accidental needlesticks is estimated to be more than one million per year. Of these, roughly 2% are contaminated by HIV. To make matters worse, about 50% of HIV needlesticks go unreported. The significance of this problem is borne out by the fact that 80% of HIV exposures to health care workers are caused by needlesticks. Of these needlesticks, one in 200 results in an HIV infection. The CDC also estimates that 12,000 health care workers in the United States will become infected with HPV each year. Over 80% of those HPV infections acquired Occupationally by health care workers will be as a result of needlesticks or other sharp instruments. 0f those infected, over 200 will die. Clearly, there is a vital need for reducing the occurrence of this type of accident.
Studies reveal that more that 75% of needlesticks occur after use of the needle, in preparation for, or during disposal. Yet despite special precautions such as the use of containers for needles to be discarded and educational programs for health workers, the incidence of needlesticks has not been significantly reduced. Many experts predict that this situation will not change until needles of safer design are introduced.
A common needle design for injections has the needle permanently affixed to the syringe. The disadvantage of this approach is that the syringe does not contain a means of protecting the worker from a needlestick, thus, risking exposure to the health care worker.
Attempts have been made to provide a syringe which allows the needle to be covered by a protective shield. A typical example of this type of apparatus is the B-D Safety -Lok.TM. syringe marketed by Becton Dickinson and Company. This device has a protective shield that slides over the used needle for preventing contact. However, to protect the needle, such devices, including the B-D Safety -Lok.TM. design, require that the entire syringe and needle be discarded together. While effective, this approach is more cumbersome because needlesticks are the contributing factor for infection of health care workers, not the syringe itself.
An alternative method to preventing needlesticks is the Needle Pro.TM. design marketed by Concord/Portex, Smith Industries. This design is covered under U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,842 which discloses a self contained needle with a protective sheath attached. After use of the needle with a syringe, the permanently attached sheath is positioned over the needle so that the needle may be discarded separately from the syringe.
The protective feature of the Needle Pro.TM. device utilizes a sheath that freely hangs on the side of the needle. However, this sheath can be a distraction when the needle is used in intravenous applications. Also, the device is not adaptable with needleless systems. Furthermore, there is additional dead space by having two needle bases on top of each other. This leads to more waste of the medication and to patients receiving less than the prescribed dosage due to retention of medication by the base surfaces.
As stated earlier, typical needle designs for intravenous applications have the needle affixed to the syringe. If it is desired to use the syringe by connecting it to an I.V. line, the needle must first be removed. Hence, devices that have protective features as part of the syringe will not be utilized, thus presenting the opportunity for an accidental needlestick. With needles that are permanently affixed to the syringe, this means that needle and syringe must both be discarded. When repeated medications are required, a new syringe must be used each time.
A device for injections that provides a needle apparatus that can be mated to needleless syringes and can be connected to an I.V. line without removing the needle and without presenting a danger of needlesticks, even when the needle is removed from the syringe, is not disclosed in the prior art.